C73
When about 10 children sat down at the table, Lumina's mother served generous portions of boiled meat.
Shirone seemed aware of the situation. Preparing this much food must have cost quite a bit of money. Paying for it was not a problem, but it was still an odd situation.
Altor, as if reading Shirone's mind, said.
"Don't worry. We can sell the monster's hide for money. I plan to start working on it tomorrow. Of course, I have to get your permission first."
"Huh? No, of course you should. Oh, and the monster's name is Ulk. I heard that its claws and fangs can fetch a pretty good price."
He thought that if it was Shirone, of course he would allow it. Moreover, the fact that other parts could be sold for money meant a greater income than expected.
But more than anything, he was glad to have learned the monster's name.
In this world, knowledge was also worth money.
If they had put it on the market without even knowing its name, they would have been taken advantage of. Perhaps they could have lost even more than the effort they put into the preparation..
"Right. Anyway, thank you. Like Ulk, without you, our village would have had to move to another place.”
For those who had been living by farming and selling things from the mountain for generations, losing their land was a terrible thing. In that sense, Shirone was a hero who saved the village.
"It's okay. This place is precious to me too."
Shirone sincerely thought so. Ulk's meat would decay over time and be unsellable, but the children did not go up to the mountain and remained.
They weren't wealthy. That's why life was hard, and they had more embarrassing moments than nobles, but he liked these people who knew how to live together.
As Martin chewed on the meat, he said.
"Anyway, I'm sorry that your hard-earned vacation turned out this way. Do you want to go up the mountain with me tomorrow? Let's sell all the shells and claws and have fun with the money."
When it came to playing, Hwajeonmin village never missed out, but Shirone sadly shook his head. He wanted to go back as soon as possible and analyze the insights he had gained.
"No, I've had enough rest. Thanks to that, my fatigue was relieved. Now I need to study hard. I'll have to return to school tomorrow morning."
--------------------
After dinner, the children went back to their respective homes. It was a moonlit night, but they still had work to do. They had to tend to their equipment all night and check their wagons.
Shirone climbed the hill and looked down at the Hwajeonmin village. The children were preparing for tomorrow's work, going from house to house with torches in their hands. As they played around and chatted happily with one another, a faint smile crossed his lips.
"Shirone, you were here."
"Huh? Altor, how did you find me?"
"I just thought you'd be here. What are you thinking about? You didn't even notice me coming."
"I was thinking about the old days. I used to play around a lot when I came here with my father. We played tag in that field over there."
"That's right. But you spent much more time reading alone. Of course, it's probably because of us."
"No, it's because I really like books..."
Altor let out a friendly laugh.
"You don't need to do that. If you don't know, it makes no sense. The kids have always admired you since then. So there were many times when I was jealous too. Looking back now, I have more than one or two things to apologize to you for."
"No, it was me who was strange. I might have been afraid of meeting people. It was a confusing time."
Unlike other children in Hwajeonmin village, Shirone was the pride of his parents as he never caused trouble. However, in reality, since he encountered magic at the age of 12, it has been a series of endless agony and worries.
It seemed Altor had a guess about it, and he nodded. Today, he realized it after seeing Shirone's magic.
The boy who was thought to be ignorant of the world and only reading books was actually fighting more fiercely than anyone else.
"I'm sorry, Shirone."
"It's okay."
"No, not that. At the drinking party. I said something presumptuous. Everyone has something called a vessel. I made a mistake. Please don't take it to heart.”
Shirone recalled Altor's sharp criticism from last night. He wasn't hurt. It was also a burden he had to bear as someone who chose magic.
"I don't think like that. In fact, I've never thought about it before. How blessed I am and how lucky I am."
Tags:
Infinite Mage (Novel)
